New licensing scheme for news websites that reach 50,000 people a month

From June 1, websites that regularly report Singapore news and have significant reach will require individual licences to operate. Currently, most websites are covered automatically under a class licence scheme. But the Media Development Authority (MDA) will require websites to be individually licensed once they meet two criteria. These are: if they report an average of at least one article per week on Singapore's news and current affairs over a period of two months, and have at least 50,000 unique visitors from Singapore each month over a period of two months. The individual licenses have to be renewed every year. Under the new framework, these sites must also put up a performance bond of $50,000, similar to that required for niche TV broadcasters. Announcing the ruling on Tuesday, the MDA said the move would place such sites on a "more consistent regulatory framework" wi...